John Abel and the Crystals That Settled an Argument About Insulin

By the mid-1920s insulin was saving lives, but what it actually was remained a debate. Some chemists argued hormones were small, mysterious “activities”, not proteins at all. John Jacob Abel at Johns Hopkins settled it the old-fashioned way: he made crystals.

Why crystals matter

A substance only crystallizes if its molecules are all alike. Crystals therefore prove purity, and a pure crystalline material that is active tells you the activity belongs to that molecule.

What he did

In 1926 Abel reported crystalline insulin, prepared from pancreas extract with carefully controlled acidity and a trace of zinc. The crystals contained protein, were biologically active, and could be redissolved without losing function.

The ripple

That finding told chemists that a hormone could be a defined molecule. It paved the way for Sanger’s sequencing in the 1950s and for every peptide listed today. Even Tesamorelin 10mg, with its 44 residues, is a defined molecule you can measure by mass.

Keep reading

Abel had also isolated adrenaline decades earlier, so this was a scientist who liked proving that chemicals, not vague forces, ran the body.

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For laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use, and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. This article is educational and is not medical advice.